


Grate Expectations

by Thecoffeehouse204



Category: In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28859160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thecoffeehouse204/pseuds/Thecoffeehouse204
Summary: You work at a prestigious art gallery in Manhattan and are sent to find the artist of a piece of street art that has appeared on the grate of a bodega in Washington Heights.  The artist isn't the only person you end up interested in.
Relationships: Usnavi/Reader (In the Heights)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the discord fam for all the lovely feedback that gave me the courage to post this. Love you guys.

You were still finding your way round New York after only arriving a few weeks ago, the instructions given to you by your manager said to take the A train and get off at 181st. Up till now you’d been trying to avoid the subway as you were worried it would be too easy to get lost and find yourself stuck somewhere unsavoury but this time you had to just suck it up as this job was too important. You had been so very lucky to land yourself this job at the prestigious Jonathan Levine gallery straight out of college so there was no room for errors. 

You had been sent to find the creator of a ‘fabulous’, in your managers words, piece of street art that had appeared on a bodega grate in Washington Heights. You were under strict instructions not to leave until you had a name or even better had met the artist in question. As the train pulled into the station you got up to leave and found yourself being jostled along the platform with the crowd of people, luckily they all seemed to be heading for the escalator your manager had told you to use. Once you arrived at street level you looked around trying to get your bearings, not being able to see any street signs you decided you needed to ask someone for directions. Seeing a happy looking man in a cap pushing a Piragua trolley you thought to yourself he would have good local knowledge so made your way over to speak to him. “Excuse me” you asked “I’m sorry to bother you but I’m just wondering if you could point me in the direction of a local bodega?” “There are lots of those round here Mija” he replied “There’s one right there just across the street”. You shook your head “Sorry I should have explained better, I’m looking for a specific bodega that recently had a piece of artwork appear on it’s grate”. The man smiled and said “Ah you’re looking for Senor Usnavi’s place. Follow me I’m heading over there now” and he set off around the corner. He seemed friendly enough but having come from a little place in the country you were still a little nervous so you checked your pocket for your rape alarm just in case. 

You followed him along a few blocks making small talk on the way, explaining that you had just started working at the gallery and your manager and sent you to find the creator of the artwork. Word had spread around NYC about it and your manager wanted to get ahead of the game and sign this new artist who was sure to be in high demand. As you turned one final corner the piragua guy pointed over to the bodega which had a blue canopy over the window saying Deli, Groceries, Store. Unfortunately as the store was open at present the artwork wasn’t visible to see. You were glad you had asked for directions now as rather naively your original plan was to just wander around till you saw the piece of work. You thanked the piragua guy for his help and he headed off calling out the cost and flavours of his shaved ice for sale. . 

You made your way across the street taking in your surroundings, there was an empty store next to the bodega that looked like it used to be a salon. On the other side across an alleyway there was a car and limousine company with a sign above saying Rosario’s , as you looked up the alleyway towards some steps you could see the GW bridge in the distance. Looking round you got the impression that a lot of places in the area had closed recently, it seemed a shame as you could imagine that it had once been a very vibrant place to be but in so many of these neighbourhood the rents kept going up and up and the small mom and pop stores just couldn’t afford to stay. 

As you reached the door of the bodega you nearly got knocked down by a man with short dark hair who looked to be in his 20’s walking out of the store with his back to you whilst still talking to someone inside. At the last second you heard a voice shout “Benny watch out” and the man stopped himself just in time. As he turned towards you he gave you a head to toe look, checking you out before stepping aside to let you enter the store. As you passed him you glanced back and caught him checking out your ass. Not ashamed at all he brought his eyes back to your face and started speaking “Well hello beautiful, not seen you round the Heights before. I’d definitely remember that…” “FACE” shouted a nervous voice from the back of the counter. You looked up and saw a very good looking man with a dark goatee wearing a black cap with two white stripes on it rushing toward you. As he got alongside the first man he turned to him and hissed “Benny - how many times do I have to tell you not to objectify the customers!” He turned to face you again with a smile and whilst bouncing on the balls of his feet said “Welcome to the neighbourhood. what can I get you?” You felt your stomach somersault at his smile and very nearly forgot he was expecting a reply from you. Your nerves got the better of you as you stammered out “Oh y-yes, well I’m here about the street art on your grate” His smile immediately disappeared and his face hardened. You felt yourself shrink back under his steely gaze. “I’ve already told your people, we are not removing it. I don’t care if you think it lowers the tone of the area, Abuela Claudia was muy importante to our community and we will not get rid of it because some outsiders don’t like it. Now if you don’t mind I’ve got a store to run” and turned to walk away. You quickly realised it was a case of mistaken identity and not wanting to lose your chance you drew yourself back up to your full height and grabbed his arm before replying “I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else, my name is Y/N and I represent the Jonathan Levine gallery. We are very interested in your artwork and definitely not looking for it’s removal. I’m actually hoping you can point me in the direction of the artist” The man ducked his head as his cheeks reddened realising his mistake. “Sorry for jumping to conclusions, it’s just been that most people have come in to complain not compliment” He held out his hand towards you “I’m Usnavi, could we maybe try this again?” 

As the man you now knew as Usnavi showed you to the back of the store he offered you a coffee which you gratefully accepted. “How much do I owe you” you enquired. “It’s on the house” Usnavi replied. You saw Benny who was stood next to Usnavi roll his eyes and whisper “pretty ladies always get the drinks for free, what does a guy have to do to get free coffee” You felt your face heat at the compliment as Usnavi elbowed his friend in the ribs giving him the side eye. Desperate to change the subject he said “So you work for some fancy gallery that’s interested in Pete’s work?” “Yes” you reply “It’s causing quite the stir in the local art world. Everyone wants to get their hands on the artist who did it to see what else he can do” You took a sip of your coffee and groaned, it was the best coffee you’d tasted in a long time. Usnavi looked at you over the counter with an unreadable expression in his eyes and cleared his throat “Umm... why should we choose you to introduce to Pete if there’s so many others going to be after him?” The childish retort of ‘because I got here first’ was on the tip of your tongue but you caught yourself remembering you were here representing the gallery so you needed to make a good impression if you wanted to keep your job. Your manager hadn’t explicitly said your job was riding on this but had strongly hinted that unless you wanted to spend the next few months doing grunt work success in getting the artist was in your best interests. 

At least you had a first name now ‘Pete’ if all else failed you could just take up stalking all the local graffiti artists and shouting “Pete” to see if any of them turned round. You chuckled to yourself at the thought and Usnavi and Benny shared a look over the crazy girl who was laughing at seemingly nothing. Realising Usnavi was still awaiting a response you launched into the usual spiel about how great the Jonathan Levine gallery was and how focused they were on new up and coming talent and giving them a showcase for their work. You could tell they weren’t convinced so as a last resort you blurted out how worried you were for your job hoping that maybe they would feel sorry for you. That got the reaction you were hoping for, the boys shared a look and Usnavi said “If you can come back tomorrow I’ll see what I can do, Pete’s a bit of a punk so I can’t promise anything but I’ll do my best” If the counter hadn’t been in the way you might have hugged him. The smile you gave Usnavi made him feel a bit weak at the knees and he was definitely looking forward to seeing you the next day. With a wave and a promise to see them tomorrow at 5 you left the bodega. As soon as the door closed Benny immediately berated Usnavi for not asking you out “Did you learn nothing with Vanessa, you still ain’t got no skills!” “Chill dude, she’s coming back tomorrow I’ll get my chance then” he said rubbing the back of his neck, not convinced he actually would actually be able to pluck up the courage.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the discord fam for all the lovely feedback that gave me the courage to post this. Love you guys.

The following day you found yourself taking more time to get ready than the day before, nothing to do with the handsome bodega owner you told yourself, it’s just nice to make an effort sometimes. You took the same route as yesterday and fortunately could remember the way from the subway stop to the bodega, you looked towards the counter as you walked through the door and your heart sank as you realised the person stood there was not Usnavi. Maybe he didn’t work everyday you thought, but he did tell you to come back today?   
As you approached the counter the teenager who had been drumming out a beat to himself on the counter looked up. “And what can I do for a beautiful lady such as yourself” he said with confidence far beyond his years. “I’m looking for Usnavi” you replied. He came round the counter to stand beside you looking you up and down in a similar manner to Benny the day before, you could tell where this kid had got his ‘skills’. “Why would you want Usnavi when you could have this younger better looking model” gesturing to himself. As you bit back a smirk at his boldness you hadn’t noticed Usnavi emerge from the storeroom behind you until he clipped the youngster round the head. “Sonny what have I told you about taking flirting advice from Benny” He turned to look at you with that amazing smile and you felt the same butterflies as yesterday. “Sorry about my cousin Sonny, he thinks himself a ladies man already” he rubbed the back of his neck and continued “I’m glad you came back” Without thinking you blurted out “Of course I came back, my job is depending on this” Usnavi’s face fell so you quickly added “and of course I had to taste your amazing coffee again” You were rewarded with another of his smiles and then he turned to the counter to prepare your coffee. You wondered to yourself if you’d imagined his reaction, did he seem disappointed that you hadn’t said you were there to see him? The smell of coffee brought you out of your musings and Usnavi was there in front of you holding out a steaming cup. As you took the drink from him your fingers brushed, you’d read in novels about feeling a spark when touching someone but had never experienced it till now. The sensation made you jerk your hand back but unfortunately Usnavi had already let go of the cup so you could do nothing but watch as the coffee fell to the floor. You managed a small step back, impeded by the shelving behind you, before the cup hit the floor. 

Unfortunately the weather was still warm being early September so you were wearing sandals and white linen trousers. The hot liquid spilled out covering your feet and bottom part of your trousers scalding you slightly in the process. Before you could fully realise what was happening Usnavi had sprung into action scooping you into his arms and shouting at Sonny to mind the store. “My place is just across the way we should get some cold water on your skin” he explained. He took you into a doorway next to Rosarios and carefully negotiated the stairs with his precious cargo. You liked the way he had taken command so quickly and was being so caring with you you didn’t have the heart to tell him it wasn’t really hurting that much. The feeling of being so close to him in his arms was making your heart race and you were sure he would be able to feel it. He smelled of an aftershave you couldn’t place and a touch of cinnamon and you had to resist the urge to rest your head in the crook of his neck to surround yourself with the smell. 

Managing to unlock the door with you still in his arms he made his way into the small apartment and into the bathroom depositing you in the tub and turning on the cold tap. “I’ll go get you some sweatpants to change into” he said as he left the room. You sat on the edge of the tub removing your sandals whilst you waited for him to return. He popped his head back in the room and handed you a pair of grey sweatpants and a towel. “Don’t worry they’re both clean” he said with a smile. Once he had closed the door behind him you removed your trousers hoping that the stain wouldn’t set, they were one of your favourite pairs. You kept your legs and feet under the water for a while then turned the tap off before stepping out and proceeding to dry your legs off. 

Hearing the water stop Usnavi ducked his head back in the door not realising you hadn’t yet put the sweatpants on, catching you standing there in just your t-shirt and panties. You were facing away from him so it gave him a great view of your ass and he couldn’t help but note that Benny’s first observation of you had been spot on. Quickly covering his eyes as you turned and hoping that you hadn’t caught him staring, he stammered “Sorry, sorry wasn’t trying to catch a look like some creep, thought you had finished” Looking at his flustered face with his eyes still fully covered you couldn’t resist teasing him as you dressed in the sweatpants. “Am I not worth looking at then?” “YES, NO, YES….. ERM” he stammered again as he turned his back to you scratching the back of his head. Although you had only known him 24 hours you were starting to notice that was a nervous trait of his. You decided to put the poor guy out of his misery saying “Relax Usnavi I was just kidding, you can turn round now - i’m decent. Do you have a machine I can throw these trousers in, want to try and get this stain out before it sets” He turned round towards you again still a little red in the face holding his hand out for the trousers “No problem i’ll put them in for you now, we’re not due to meet Pete for an hour or so yet so we can just wait here till they’re washed and dried” he offered.   
Whilst you waited he got you a drink, a cold one this time and gestured towards a worn looking sofa. You were surprised at how easily the conversation flowed between you considering your increasing attraction to him but you found yourself talking about the neighbourhood and it’s people. You asked him about the artwork on the grate which lead to him telling you about Abuela Claudia and what an amazing woman she was, and that she had looked after him after his folks were gone. How she’d passed away on the 4th July weekend and Pete had done the work that night. He got a bit choked up as he talked about her lottery win and their plans to fly to the DR where his parents came from. You placed your hand on top of his to comfort him and he looked at you with a shy smile. Everything had been changing, Daniella was moving the Salon and the Rosario’s had decided to sell up to pay their daughter Nina’s tuition fees at Stanford and then losing Abuela. Usnavi explained he’d felt a bit adrift until he saw Pete’s work and it had just brought everything into focus for him. He’d realised home was here in the Heights not the DR so he decided to stay and gave a third of the money to Nina so her family didn’t have to sell the cab company. 

You could tell how passionately Usnavi felt about this little community and how much the artwork meant to him and you felt your emerging feelings for him grow. You decided you would do anything in your power to protect the grate against those that wanted to destroy Abuela’s tribute. Whilst you had been thinking you realised he had started talking again and caught the name Vanessa, he seemed to say it with a fondness and you felt your stomach sink a little. Of course a man like Usnavi wouldn’t be single, what were you thinking! You’d been out of the dating game so long you must have misread the signals. You forced yourself to listen and discovered this Vanessa had moved downtown around the time the Salon closed and they were making the first steps into a relationship “We tried to make a go of it but I get so busy with the store and Vanessa got tired of always having to be the one to come back here so we decided we were better as friends” Your heart lifted again at his words and you hoped you didn’t have too gleeful a look on your face to give away your feelings. Usnavi continued “Last I heard she was seeing some hot shot moneybags downtown, anyway enough about me and the Heights, I want to hear about your life”   
You spent the next half hour going through your life with him and how you came to be working for the gallery and before you knew it your trousers, which had been transferred to the dryer earlier, were ready and looking good as new. Usnavi glanced at the clock on the stove and told you it was time to go and meet Pete. You headed back into the bathroom to collect your sandals which seemed fine after the coffee incident before making your way back downstairs. 

As you walked back into the store you could see Sonny had been joined by another man. He looked a little older than Sonny but still a teenager. As you approached you saw Sonny whisper something at him and the older teenager wiped his hands on his shirt and approached you one hand outstretched to shake yours “You must be Y/N, I can’t believe some fancy gallery is interested in my work you know, is this for reals?” You weren’t sure what you were expecting from a graffiti artist but looking at the man you were sure that your manager would be taken aback, you just hoped their desire to be part of the buzz his work was inspiring would enable them to look past his image. You introduced yourself and fixed up a time and date next week for him to come down to the gallery to meet with your manager. “Bring a portfolio if you can” you asked him “Yo I ain’t got no portfolio but my work is all over the Heights” he bragged. You frowned then thinking on your feet said “If you can get pictures together before the meeting that would be great and sketch a few things down on paper too, that will help” “I’ll get right on that” he said as he picked up his backpack, which sounded to be full of paint cans and went to leave. You gave him one of your cards and a promise to see him next week. 

You turned back to Sonny and Usnavi “Thanks so much for fixing this up Usnavi, I hope my boss likes what he sees next week” “I’m sure it’ll be fine” Usnavi replied “He may look like a punk but he does have a passion for his work” You looked down at your feet not really sure what to next “I suppose i’d best be getting back, don’t want to be travelling on the Subway after dark” You saw Sonny give Usnavi a gentle shove towards you. “Um yes, you should definitely be careful” said Usnavi again rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks for everything you’ve done today, you were definitely my knight in shining armour after the coffee incident” you smirked. You reached in your bag for another of your cards, if Usnavi wasn’t going to ask for it you might as well find a way to give him your number. “If you have any more trouble with the people complaining about the grate, give me a call” you offered. You were again presented with one of his amazing smiles as he tucked the card in his shirt pocket. “And maybe if I just want to catch up too or something” he said with a hopeful look.”or something” you smirked before stepping forward to give him a hug. You hoped it wasn’t too obvious as you inhaled a bit more of that delicious scent before turning and leaving with a wave. Usnavi still looking a bit stunned, managed a half lift of his hand before the door closed behind you.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the discord fam for all the lovely feedback that gave me the courage to post this. Love you guys.  
> And thanks to TheBigWingsOfFantasy for your comments.

Monday rolled around far too quickly and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t disappointed to have not heard from Usnavi. After you left on Saturday you’d hoped he’d be in touch that night, maybe to check you got home okay but nothing. You were almost at the end of an uneventful day at work where you’d filled your boss in about the meeting with Pete when your phone started ringing, you didn’t recognise the number but picked up anyway in case it was a work call. You barely had chance to say hello before a voice started shouting down the line at you “Y/N, Y/N you need to get here quick, there’s some dude from the city here and he’s wanting to get rid of Pete’s work, says he has papers and everything” For a moment you couldn’t place the voice but as soon as he mentioned Pete you recognised it as Sonny. “Calm down Sonny, what’s happening right now?” you questioned. “He’s outside with Usnavi, I thought Cuz was going to punch him” You started gathering your things up to leave whilst speaking to Sonny “Can you get the phone to Usnavi so I can speak to him please?” You quickly went through to your manager’s office and explained the situation, not wanting the artwork destroyed they shooed you off and told you to get a cab and charge it to the gallery to help you get there quicker. As you walked out the gallery door you heard Usnavi’s voice on the line “Y/N I think I messed up” he said sheepishly. “What do you mean?” you replied. “I’ve been getting these notices the last month or so about the graffiti removal order but i’ve just ignored them, just figured it was my bodega so they can’t tell me what to do and now this guy’s here saying he has a work order to paint over it today!” You could hear the stress in Usnavi’s voice and it spurred you on to get there as quickly as possible so you could help him out. You hailed a cab and jumped in, just telling the driver Washington Heights. “I’m on my way, just try and stall him and i’ll hopefully have a plan before I get there” you said. As you gave the driver the address you dialed the gallery’s lawyer hoping they may be able to offer you a solution. They mentioned a case from a few years ago where an artist claimed their work was protected under the Visual Artists Rights Act so Pete’s work may be offered the same protection. They asked you to give them half an hour to make some calls and they’d get back to you. 

You watched the buildings of Manhattan give way to greenery as the driver got on the Henry Hudson Parkway to take you up towards Washington Heights, your mind consumed with thoughts of Usnavi, you hoped he didn’t do anything too rash before you managed to get there. The journey took around 25 minutes and as you pulled up outside the Bodega you could see a small crowd had gathered. As you got out the cab and paid the driver Benny noticed your arrival and rushed over. “ Y/N am I glad you’re here, my man is mad stressed, he’s gone and handcuffed himself to the grate” he told you. You pinched the bridge of your nose feeling a stress headache coming on “When I said stall him I didn’t mean do something like that, he’s gonna get himself arrested or something.” “I did hear the guy from the city say something about cops so think they’re on their way!” said Sonny who had come over to join you. “My Cuz wouldn’t last two seconds if he was banged up” obviously trying to make jokes to cover up his concern. 

You made your way through the crowd to see that Usnavi had indeed handcuffed one arm to the grate. The look of relief on Usnavi’s face as he caught sight of you made your stomach drop, you’d yet to hear back from the lawyers so didn’t have any good news to tell him. You knew how much Abuela meant to him and to lose the artwork that had given him and the community hope would be a big blow. Although you’d only known him 48 hours he’d already found a place in your heart and you desperately wanted to put that beautiful smile back on his face. Once you were stood in front of him you couldn’t help but pull him in for a hug, he let out a surprised gasp before wrapping his free arm round you and clinging to you like a life raft, burying his head in your shoulder. Your heart skipped a beat at being so close to Usnavi, surrounded by the same scent you had experienced on Saturday, as you pulled back from the hug he was looking deep into your eyes then his flickered down to your lips. Even though in the back of your mind you knew this wasn’t the time or the place for a first kiss you still found yourself leaning in towards him. As you could feel the whisper of his breath on your lips your phone rang causing Usnavi to jerk back with a blush on his face and he frantically glanced around as if suddenly realising where you both were. With heated cheeks of your own and a racing heart you took a step back to pick up the call. Thankfully it was the gallery’s lawyer with some potentially good news, the artwork should be able to be protected, it was just a case of getting paperwork signed off by a judge. They’d already spoken to your manager and were on with filing the paperwork to hopefully get it signed off tonight. You just needed to convince the man from the city to hold off till tomorrow, the lawyer asked you to find him and they would speak to him which you were grateful of. Someone with all the right legal speak would hold more weight than some twenty something recent college graduate from the country. You promised to call them back once you had located the man in charge and looked up at Usnavi with a smile “Fingers crossed we have a way to save Abuela’s painting” you told him. You’re sure that if he hadn’t still been attached to the grate he would have jumped in the air he looked so happy. “I need the guy in charge, which one is he?” you asked. Usnavi pointed over to some overweight balding man talking to the cops who had just arrived. He was clearly angered that his day wasn’t going the way he’d hoped and was gesturing madly in your direction. You have to admit you were relieved the cops were there, at least if they witnessed the lawyer telling the man he needed to hold off till tomorrow in light of the impending legal action he would be more likely to listen and not just take matters into his own hands. 

You made your way over to the small group and introduced yourself asking the man, whose name was Mr Rodriguez, if he would be prepared to speak to your lawyers. If possible he got even more red in the face and you could tell he was about to unleash a torrent of abuse at you before one of the cops cleared his throat, reminding him they were there. The change in his demeanour was instant and he acted like couldn’t be happier to speak to them to sort this whole mess out. You stood to one side making small talk with the cops whilst the lawyers worked their magic. As Mr Rodriguez hung up the phone you heard him agree to not taking any action till noon the next day. You turned in the direction of Usnavi who had been watching the whole exchange from a distance and gave him the thumbs up. With his free hand he punched the air and let out a whoop of joy. Mr Rodriguez rounded up his minions and they headed back to their vehicles with a promise to be back the next day if the paperwork wasn’t in order. Realising that there would be no more drama tonight the crowd also dispersed. 

As you looked back over to the bodega you noticed Usnavi had released himself and was stood talking to Benny & Sonny bouncing back and forth on his feet, as you made your way over to join them he turned to look at you with the biggest smile on his face. He turned back to quickly say something to the other two before making his way over to you at a slight jog, as he reached you he threw his arms around you and span you round in a hug. “You were incredible” he breathed “If it wasn’t for you the mural would be gone forever” He looked at you with such love in his eyes you felt butterflies in your stomach. As he placed you back on the ground he cupped your face in his hands and captured your lips with his. Somewhere behind him you heard some catcalls that you assume were Benny & Sonny. You ignored them as Usnavi deepened the kiss, his tongue begging for entrance to your lips which you granted. You felt like time had stopped as soon as his lips touched yours, the tension of the day slipping away as you lost yourself in the kiss. One of Usnavi’s hands had moved to the back of your head the other to the bottom of your back which he used to pull you in closer to him. You wrapped your arms round him to steady yourself, as cliche as it sounded you had gone weak in the knees. After a few blissful minutes he reluctantly pulled back from the kiss and shyly said “I’ve been wanting to do that since Saturday” You nodded and “Me too” still a little breathless. He leaned in towards you again but paused when there was more shouting from behind you “Get a room” Benny called and Sonny started singing “Usnavi & Y/N sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G” He ducked his head blushing. “We should continue this later, when we’re alone” he said. You raised your eyebrows at him and instantly the shy Usnavi returned rubbing the back of his neck “I..I….I mean, I’d like to take you out on a proper date if you’re interested, can’t exactly tell everyone our first date I was handcuffed to the grate!” You gave him a quick kiss in confirmation and turned to walk back to the store. Feeling emboldened by the events of the day you shot a quick look back over your shoulder. “Make sure to bring the handcuffs” you said with a wink as Usnavi’s mouth dropped open.


End file.
